North Korea obtains EMP weapons from Russia, could now melt most of the electronics in Asia

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Hot on the heels of (reportedly) harnessing nuclear fusion and a slew of ballistic missile launches, South Korea’s intelligence agency is now reporting that Kim Jong-Un’s North Korea is developing an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapon. At a bare minimum, this EMP could theoretically damage electronic equipment south of the Korean DMZ. At higher power levels, a real EMP device can melt any electronic device or system within hundreds of miles. The EMP weapon would be part of North Korea’s larger cyberwarfare efforts, which have so far been mainly focused on gathering intelligence by hacking South Korean computer networks and devices.

According to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), North Korea has purchased EMP weaponry from Russia, and is now developing its own in-house version. As you’d expect, given the sensitive nature of this information, we don’t have a whole lot of details about either the Russian EMP weapon or the DPRK’s homebrew variant. We can attempt to extrapolate some details from Russia’s previous EMP tests and what we know about EMP weapons in general, though.

An EMP blast in The Matrix (definitely not nuclear)

As you probably know from The Matrix and various other action/sci-fi settings, electromagnetic pulses are the ultimate weapon against anything electronic — from telephone wires to the power grid to the computer chips that control cars, planes, and smartphones. Weaponized EMPs generally come in two forms: nuclear and non-nuclear. Non-nuclear EMPs are fairly weak (on the order of one million times weaker than their nuclear counterparts), but that’s not necessarily a bad thing if you’re just trying to knock out the electronics of a small, localized area (a military base or water pumping station, for example). At this point, we have no idea if North Korea has acquired nuclear or non-nuclear EMP tech from Russia — but as non-nuclear EMPs are pretty dull, let’s just assume the worst and assume that North Korea now has a nuclear EMP in its possession.

US thermonuclear bomb test

Standard nuclear bombs, like those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, create a huge amount of gamma radiation when they explosively fission atoms. This gamma radiation ionizes — strips electrons away from — atoms in the atmosphere, creating a huge mass of free electrons. These electrons are then deflected by the Earth’s magnetic field, creating a huge electromagnetic pulse — or E1, in EMP terms. The E1 induces very high voltages in just about everything, causing wires to melt, fuses to blow, and insulators to break down and become conductors. The E1 pulse is incredibly fast — just a few nanoseconds after the nuclear detonation.

There are also E2 and E3 pulses: E2 is fairly similar to lightning, and E3 is comparable to geomagnetic storms caused by solar flares (the nuke distorts Earth’s magnetic field, basically). Surge protectors generally protect against E2. E3 is hard to protect against, but its effects are generally only felt by larger electrical installations, such as power lines. The massively powerful E1 pulse — around 50,000 volts per meter, or a peak power density of 6.6 megawatts per square meter — is what knocks out the majority of your electronic infrastructure.

The effects of an EMP blast in the USA. A fairly small nuclear device would probably melt most of the electronics within the dark blue U area.

Because the E1 pulse is generated by gamma rays striking the atmosphere, the most effective nuclear EMPs are detonated at high altitude — around 250 miles (400 km) above Earth. This allows the gamma rays to spread out before they hit the atmosphere, creating a huge area of effect. The nuclear device doesn’t even need to be that big, either — in 1962, the USA tested a 1.44-megaton nuclear EMP (Starfish Prime) above the Pacific Ocean that caused electrical damage 900 miles away in Hawaii. Kiloton-yield nukes would still be very effective as well, and to maximize the size of the EMP it’s actually better for the nuke to be plain ol’ fission, rather than a thermonuclear fission-then-fusion device. If a big EMP was detonated above the USA, the E1 burst would probably melt most of the electronics within 1,000 miles or so. (Read: 500MW from half a gram of hydrogen: The hunt for fusion power heats up.)

The Soviet Union also performed some successful EMP tests in the early ’60s, fusing hundreds of miles of telephone wire and burning down a power plant (for some reason the Soviets performed the test over a populated land mass). Since then, though, as far as we know, there have been no further testing of nuclear EMPs by either the US or Russia. It’s fairly safe to assume that the world’s nuclear powers have developed advanced EMPs — the power to knock out a country’s infrastructure without frazzling millions of people is pretty awesome — but they’re impossible to test without giving away the game.

Which brings us back to North Korea. It’s unlikely that Russia would give Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un a nuclear weapon. It’s possible that North Korea has its own fission device that it’s planning to combine with older Russian/Soviet EMP tech, and then detonate it over South Korea with one of its intermediate-range BM25 Musadan ballistic missiles. But really, how North Korea obtained an EMP isn’t all that significant. It’s now been more than 50 years since the first nuclear EMP detonations. With modern tooling and technologies, creating an EMP weapon isn’t particularly hard. For me, the fact that North Korea has tested or acquired a certain weapon of mass destruction is hardly surprising — for me, it’s much more surprising that the Supreme Leader hasn’t used any of them yet.

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“For me, the fact that North Korea has tested or acquired a certain weapon of mass destruction is hardly surprising — for me, it’s much more surprising that the Supreme Leader hasn’t used any of them yet.”

It might be because, if he did, he would be at war with NATO and probably a large portion of the world. That’s a bad strategy if you enjoy breathing.

Tommy Tinkle

During the Korean War, it was more than US+NATO but also the UN. They had every advantage in military hardware and strategic elements like air superiority. They too believed China would not intervene. But China did.

In the end, North Korea was lost and the longest retreat in US military history was at the hands of the Chinese.

Why did I bring this up, not to say China would defend North Korea today. Not at all. Only that just saying it would be war against NATO and a large portion of the world is not the end of discussion. Its happened before. China is exponentially most powerful than it was during the Korean War and it has accumulated much. They will never risk China’s gains for North Korea because their path cannot be repeated. They are already paying the price in pollution alone. The gains can be lost, but the pollution from the first time stays. That is just one example among many of what China did to grow today and how they cannot do it a second time. So risking what they have gained is unthinkable.

Singh1699

At the end of the day America is not fierce so it will lose. Wars are still fought by men, and American men are not lions. If a state has open carry and every man does not, versus another place where they do you can predict the outcome. Long term the open carrying culture will win.

StupidPolice

Wars are fought by bankers. They decide who wins. Militarily America could win any war with great ease, but that is not in the interests of bankers or corporations. Now toddle off into the hills and fight your Maoist guerillas that you’ve never managed to clean up.

Singh1699

I’m not Indian. Wars are about objectives, but I don’t think we can have a nuanced discussion on that.

Singh1699

What you said was mad funny though brother, (the last part) I respect that.
India doesn’t really want to clear out the maoists. It can’t without better UAVs which are coming from Israel. The whole maoist problem is just Indian state being itself.
Google Forbes India’s Dirty war, it’s dirtier than that but that’s the political situation. They leave out the gore, like mass rape of villages and stuff like that.
Anyway, peace but American culture does not allow for protracted non-profitable wars. It’s not an honor culture anyy longer, when it was it was isolationist.
War is not only won by technology America was learning that at one point. After the gulf war it started to ignore that however. The top general of the NVA who’s the inspiration for many jihadis even realized/realizes that.

David Nph Turner

Win with ease eh? name me one war the US has won single handed? without help from anyone. (and fighting against yourself doesn’t count)

Christopher Corvino

Barbary War, War of 1812, Mexican American War, Spanish American War, Philippine American war, Panama War. I think the numbers speak for themselves.

SnakePlissken

Saying that China is now exponentially more powerful is fair enough.
Saying it is more power on a scale of Biblical Proportion is also fair.

Scott Jackson

“the power to knock out a country’s infrastructure without frazzling millions of people is pretty awesome”…how is that awesome? The actual blast may not directly kill any people but many casualties can and probably would result from the devastating effects. Cars and planes would crash, killing people. Hospitals would cease to function, no heating and air conditioning, refrigeration, water treatment facilities, food storage, fuel, transportation etc…would be all useless. Life would come to a screeching halt and a lot of people, especially the old, young, and ill would die. That is anything but awesome…

I think they meant a neutron bomb, which uses fusion with the energy of an initial fission reaction.

Richard Grow

That’s how all TND’s work!

SicknessofChoice

The difference between a neutron bomb and a normal TND is the casing. A normal TND uses a heavy lead or uranium casing which absorbs the initial burst of neutrons. A neutron bomb uses a thinner casing which allows the neutrons to escape which takes the form of neutron radiation which zaps any human within a given radius depending upon the power of a given bomb, with like 8000 rads of radiation which would immediately incapacitate anyone caught in the burst and cause 100% mortality within 2 days. There is still a blast with thermal and overpressure effects including destruction of infrastructure but not to the degree which a normal TND would inflict since part of the energy release is in the neutron radiation rather than solely blast effects.

Lee Oslund

Indeed, no one on the planet has harnessed nuclear fusion in a controlled reaction for much more than a few seconds. DKRP having done it? Nope, Perhaps if they’ve perfected a thermonuclear bomb, but no other way.

massau

yeeey now the Supreme Leader can blast the whole world back to the start of the information revolution (1950 or so). Thank you very much russia.

ok we would still have the plans to build all the equipment but most of the data / research will be destroyed the only computers remaining would be military ones that have somekind of shielding like a full bunker.

CPPCrispy

I wonder if the NSA has their equipment shielded.

massau

that doesn’t make a difference. there would still be a massive amount of data, ideas, research lost. all chip fabs (except for military), CNC machines , power plants would be destroyed.
Maybe the nuclear reactors would explode because the regulation went bad.
So it will take years to recover from that. We would be blasted back to were north Korea is at the present.

SicknessofChoice

Worse than where they are at currently! It would be like the 1800s almost instantly, except some of the old beater autos before electronics would weather the EMP just fine as long as they have points and a standard 12 volt battery?

Jackson Masila

That’s all abt money and power. War has arrested so many innocent lives and when its over they pretend to make peace. May it b emp…nuclear or chemical…nature will never end. If only man can live for years he wants…that will surprise me but not emp….Jackson Mombasa

Fuck the NSA

Let’s hope he blasts the US. It’ll make the rest of the world, a whole lot safer.

Singh1699

Not really. America is still better than taliban. But at least taliban fights pedophiles while America props it up.

Ray C

Props up pedophiles?

Singh1699

Yes. There are areas where 50% of pashtun men have teenage male sexual slaves. Taliban’s main fight was to oust the warlord system that supported, post-soviet regime.
At least America does it big, shuts down largest pedophile website. Props up largest pedophile country.

Ray C

I see what you’re saying. There are always two sides to everything. There is always a good and evil side of things. Nothing has 100% good intentions, and no one was the right thing always for the right reason. I hate the idea of sexual slavery, but I do support each state’s or country’s right to set it’s on AOC

SicknessofChoice

Damn? So why do they care about 72 female virgins if they are a bunch of closet homos? No wonder they keep blowing each other up? They are all nutters!

SnakePlissken

That part of the world, central-asia/middle-east was supposedly where the 1st civilizations on earth were – 1000s of yrs old. So by 1970, they should have been fully populated nations – no room for anyone else (and they were). However, they have increased population by a factor of 5x in those nations since 1970 – why? Nutty? Worse than that, it is, factually, an effort to out-populate The West by Leaders of Islam. The Mullahs over there are using the self-declared righteousness of Islam to convince those people that they have the right to rule the world, and that they can achieve that by out-populating all others. They are beyond nutty, they are insane, fearing annihilation by the obviously superior modern western world, now adapted by India, China, Taiwan, etc. As a result, they are now grotesquely overpopulated (in their deserts) and have nothing for the majority of themselves to do, while they wait for The West to die off so they can go out and take it by sheer demographics, so, with nothing to do, of course their daily lives are ‘lunatic’.

If anyone in The West actually had a fully functioning brain, they would nuke those lunatics off the planet, entirely ERASE that religion, same as Africa, where Islam has infected the minds there too, and teach those sand-kissing, pigeon-mooning s-for-brains that they truly are NOTHING but mindless and meaningless fleas on a rat’s ass.

Lonnie Franklin

The Taliban is made up of Pediphiles!!!

yourseviceman

your an a/h

Lonnie Franklin

I agree 100%

Christopher Corvino

If u think destabilizing the world economy will make the world safer then yeah whatever u say. Now go take ur meds.

Fuck the NSA

Let’s hope he blasts the US. It’ll make the rest of the world, a whole lot safer.

d_saum

I highly suggest you read “One Second After” and “Lights Out” if you want to know what life would be like after an EMP attack.

Phobos

I’m not sure if the N. Korea got those EMP bombs from Russia, I would believe if they got them from China, as to how can they develop their own bombs I will pick China as the first one to help them out. I mean a country that is isolated from trade from the rest of the countries, where do they get their materials from?

Master Troll

What happened to the war on terror and WMD’s? I guess it only matters if you have oil

kzin53

It also matters who the WMD possessor’s friends are. in the case of NKorea, it’s China — not a bad boy anyone wants to take on.

Singh1699

China ran from the Sikh Regiment. :P

kzin53

Not any more I’d wager

Singh1699

I’d bet my life they still would. Battles of Chamkaur, longewal, and saragarhi make the Spartans look like women. I can only assume you comment as you do, because China has grown a lot. Therefore you assume automatically that the past would be different today. However lions remain lions.

Michael Scoffield

Please you stupid brown-shitfaced Indian shut the hell up ! The little faggots from the Sikh Regiment wouldn’t even be able to kill a little Spartan girl. You should have remained slaves to the British.

Singh1699

If you are in southern Ontario or the northeast come. Otherwise you’re just another shit-skin talking shit. We were never slaves of the British btw.

6 foot men with 6 foot beards are not little by anyone’s means. Last thing Indian means Hindu, you’re the pagan with state and money as God, not me.

Again what you say warrants a proper response, however if you’re too far it’s not worth it.

Vaheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Vaheguru Ji Ki Fateh||

Michael Scoffield

The Sikh would be able to do crap because your primitive Indian technology would be annihilated by the Chinese and so would your primitive culture. No point in arguing with you since you gave so moronic answers to basically everyone.

Yet they had enough cannon to make the British run, and have them declare Nalwa would rule Asia.
You know a lot of napoleon’s general trained the army? You a coward though,

Singh1699

Btw just talking recent war of 62 was Lee enfield bolt vs AK 47. 10k vs 80k why did China cut after getting bloodied? Go ask how many kia and wounded they had?
If you’re American you’re about as advanced as a bit if soldered tnt under a roadside..
Some gay pedoz destroyed you. Plus some illiterate niggers in Somalia. Lol,

Singh1699

HAHAHAHAHAH When I read the Title. Go N.K

iron_dinges

NK reportedly* obtains EMP weapons from Russia

I don’t know much about North Korea, but judging by their poverty and lack of oil, this all sounds very silly to me.

South Korea has 3 times the military budget than Best Korea, so to me this sounds like propaganda to keep the threat “real” so that the funding doesn’t stop.

North Korea has enough artillery to blast seoul in minutes. Remember a lot of spending is salary and research. North Korea buys foreign tech and pays little.

Fuck the NSA

For me, the fact that America has tested or acquired a certain weapon of mass destruction is hardly surprising — for me, it’s also not surprising that the Supreme Leader is the only country to have used them.

Fuck the NSA

For me, the fact that America has tested or acquired a certain weapon of mass destruction is hardly surprising — for me, it’s also not surprising that the Supreme Leader is the only country to have used them.

Nevers0ft

North Korea is best Korea

Matthew Martin

The article starts by mentioning nuclear fusion. This should actually be nuclear FISSION.

Matthew Martin

Unless, the article was referring to the second stage of a neutron bomb. It’s not clear.

First off, the story originates with the National Intelligence Service of South Korea. Anything the NIS says about the DPRK must be taken with a very tiny grain of salt and here’s why First off, the NIS functions almost like a separate, super-right wing political party. The government has been trying to rein them in for years, with little success. Every time the government gets close to clipping the wings of the NIS, it comes out with lurid scare stories about the North. Probably 90% of what people think they know about the DPRK originates with the NIS. One of the latest stories coming out of the NIS was that Ri Sol Ju, wife of Kim Jong Un, was an actress in porno flicks. Of course the lady didn’t do anything of the kind but since everybody hates the DPRK, it sounds logical, right?
There’s nothing secret about EMP technology. Anybody can make an EMP weapon. The Israelis are probably going to hit Iran with a few of these in the very near future. It’s a stupid idea to think the Russians would let the DPRK, or anyone else, have EMP weapons. An EMP warhead is not a tank or a jet fighter. It’s a weapon that can destroy a civilization. Only the NIS could dream this one up.

convolution

NO NOT MY BELOVED SAMSUNG HEADQUARTERS AND THE MANY KPOP STUDIOS!!!!

Will Coles

So, directable at a small area, such as a regiment or brigade? It could fry all unprotected circuits, such as radios, GPS & comms that the US armed forces now rely very heavily on? If it’s mobile, say truck-based, with either it’s own supply (unlikely) or can tap into existing power grids (how?) you’ve got a pretty awesome complimentary weapon!

Will Coles

Or just one outside each financial exchange triggered at the same time internationally, “fighting without fighting” as Bruce Lee would say!

SicknessofChoice

If the North Koreans used such a device it would probably fry electrical grids not just in South Korea but in Japan, China and possibly extreme eastern Russia? That may be the reason they have not detonated an EMP device yet?

SicknessofChoice

Hmmmm…that’s a sneaky way for the Russians to attack us, yet not attack us? Give some US hating rogue nation with a nutter for a leader, a weapon of mass destruction to use at will against us? Then the Russians, Chinese etc etc come in afterwards and mop up? Think about it….

SicknessofChoice

That would be like us giving the Chechens a nuke device to use against Russia…

Hassan Ramadan

Standard nuclear bombs, like those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, create a huge amount of gamma radiation when they explosively fission atoms. This gamma radiation ionizes — strips electrons away from — atoms in the atmosphere, creating a huge mass of free electrons. These electrons are then deflected by the Earth’s magnetic field, creating a huge electromagnetic pulse

Low tech description of EMPs; EMPs are more sophisticated and refers to any type of electromagnetic pulse big or small. Directed EMPs are fine point laser like systems that can hit individual targets. One can stall a car or even do remote control of computer systems. Human beings are also susceptible to EMP for mind control and remote control/torture/interrogation. The cells and particles in our bodies are not shielded and don’t have jammers. http://www.DrRobertDuncan.com

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